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The College Finder

Note: A few people have commented on slow loading with the visualization.  If you have troubles, click here to be taken right to the visualization.  It should open in a new tab and you can follow along from there.   

This is always a popular post with high school counselors, IECs, parents, and students who are looking for general information on degrees awarded, or a very specific combination of academic programs, location, and other institutional characteristics.

It uses IPEDS data I downloaded as soon as I can when it became available (and before a looming government shutdown), and shows all 1,700 majors recognized by the federal government in the IPEDS system, using CIP codes, and the number of degrees awarded by college in any selected area.

For instance, you might have a question about which college awards the most degrees in French Language and Literature: A few clicks, and you find it's the University of Arizona.  If you want a colder climate, choose the Great Lakes region, for instance, and you'll see it's The University of Michigan.  If you want a private college, another two clicks and you find it's Oberlin.

This takes a lot of time and effort to bring about, and if you use this in your business, you can support hosting, software, and the cost of my time by Buying Me A Coffee (click here). If you're a high school counselor or a student or a parent, please skip the link and go right to the next paragraph.

Here's how you work this visualization.  In the top right, you can choose whether you want to see degrees awarded to all students, men, women, or any federally recognized ethnic or racial group.  You decide; I think it's especially helpful for finding good places for students of color, or women in STEM, for instance.

Along the top, I recommend you choose a family first: Agriculture, or Engineering, or Business, for instance, and then use the degree name to find a specific major.  In the major box, start typing a few letters of the major you're looking for: The more you type, the better.  Typing C-O-M, for instance, will allow you to choose from Communications or Computer Science or Comedy Writing, depending on what family you've selected.  The chart will update.

Along the right, you can limit the type of institutions displayed: By control, by size, by region or state, or a few other variables.  If you ever want to start over, use the controls at lower right.

A lot of the ways I've shared these posts in the past have changed, so you should feel free to share this with anyone you wish.  The more, the merrier.

Let me know if anything looks off with this view.  It's a fresh data set, and although I've spot checked it, there is always a chance something is out of kilter.  

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